Today we have a guest post from my friend (and soon to be famous) fitness nutrition coach, Kardena Pauza (pic of her and I below). I had the chance to hang out with Kardena, who was awarded and crowned Ms. America Fitness 2006-2007 a few weeks ago while in Orange County, California.

With her permission, I asked if I could share a recent article of hers for you. I will have Kardena reply to any of your comments below so make sure you post your comments and questions.

4 Vegetarian Foods NOT To Eat On A Weight Loss Diet

By: Kardena Pauza, CPT (NASM), FNC (Fitness Nutrition Coach)

When most folks think of vegetarian foods, they think of naturally healthy meals and men and women with vibrant energy. But did you know that there are dozens of so-called “health foods” that vegetarians eat that are downright unhealthy – and can even cause you to gain fat fast?

I’ve been a vegetarian for 5 years now, and I learned a lot of lessons about these “healthy” foods the hard way – so that you don’t have to make the same mistakes I made.

Here’s my list of the first 5 vegetarian foods you MUST avoid if you want to lose fat, boost your energy, improve your complexion, and dramatically increase your health.

1. Junk Food Breakfast Cereals/ Granola

Your cereal could be making you FAT…. Since cereal products were introduced in 1867 they have become popular as the standard breakfast for most people. We love our cereal!

The problem is that cereals are not as wholesome as they once were. One major change in today’s cereal is the amount of sugar they put in the products. Most of the cereals on the market have high sugar content and also contain hydrogenated oil.

No amount of hydrogenated oil (trans fats) is healthy or ok to consume and we should definitely kick‘em to the curb. According to the FDA a person should have no more than 2 grams of trans fat per day but in my opinion these foreign oils should not be ingested whatsoever.

Many cereals are loaded with tons of sugar containing between 9-26 grams of sugar per serving, little to no protein, 1-3 grams of fiber and fat derived from hydrogenated oils. Basically, cereals don’t have enough healthy fiber, goods fats, or protein, and contain too much sugar, bad fats, and refined carbs.

Granola is one of the most popular cereal types but is dense in calories and coated in sugar to give it that scrumptious crunch. It seems like a “wholesome hippy” thing to eat, but believe me, I learned the hard way how damaging the sugar is in granola. I loved eating granola when I was a teenager and that’s when I gained weight!

Excess sugar can be quickly stored as fat right on your belly or thighs, and sugar is also very damaging to the liver, the skin, the joints and causes inflammation and many other complications in the body.

I recommend having no more than 6-9 grams of sugar in a sitting. You have to be careful because if the nutritional label says 6 grams/serving and you eat 1 ½ cups which may be 2 servings, oops, you just consumed 12-18 grams of sugar!

And wait, that doesn’t include the sugar in your milk. My clients and other guys I’ve talked to eat 2-3 bowls of cereal at one time! No wonder they have belly fat!

You must also watch out for hydrogenated oil in cereal: Hydrogenated oil & partially hydrogenated oil ARE “trans fats.” These fats get deposited as fat & toxins in our body and arteries.

Manufacturers use hydrogenated oil in their products so the cereal will last longer on the shelf. It’s used as a preservative to save companies money but it’s unhealthy for you. And here’s a shocking fact about trans-fats.

If a product has 0.49999 grams of trans-fat per serving they do not have to report it on the nutritional label but you will see it on the ingredient list. How sneaky!

You still need to watch out for it because the FDA has stated that consuming more than 2 grams per day of trans-fats is unhealthy. You can see how this would be easy to exceed once you start looking at all of the ingredients in your food can’t you?

Breakfast bars seem so innocent and cute but they could be making your body a fat making machine.

From my research on breakfast bars, there is not much good news to share about these glorified Pop Tarts we call a fast healthy option for breakfast.

Even a brand name with the word “thin” or “slim” is not to be trusted from name alone. Bars also tend to have more filler-ingredients which mean more non-nutritive calories because they need binders in the bar.

Here is a list of different bars that are marketed for different needs or situations: Slim Fast Bar, Balance Gold, Kashi Go Lean Chewy, Nutri Grain bars, Oatmeal Crisps. Most of these bars are contain processed carbohydrates, are high in unhealthy fats and/or high in sugar (and usually contain nasty high fructose corn syrup).

You have to look at more than the amount of calories in an item. What’s important is the quality AND the quantity (calories). The slim fast bar may be in your calorie range, but the quality of the ingredients is the worst of the worst.

How can corporations call a meal replacement bar a substitute for fresh produce, essential fats, and whole grains?They simply throw some cheap vitamins, a bit of protein powder & cheap sugar in a candy bar and call it a meal replacement – but give me a break!

The main ingredients of these bars are a little protein, high fructose corn syrup and a dash of the evil hydrogenated oils. Instead have some real food not synthesized protein, vitamins and minerals covered in chocolate or high-sugar yogurt coating.

But not all bars at health food stores are good, either! If you shop at the health food store like I do, you probably see or have bought bars like the Clif Bar, Power Bar, Luna Bar, or Balance Bar.

Clif Bars contain a high amount of sugar; it’s basically a compressed granola bar with sweet chunky treats like chocolate and fruit added. The first ingredient is rice syrup with 3-4 other sugars throughout the label and contains about 20 grams of sugar and 230 calories. That is too high for a snack.

Also, just because it is a natural sugar doesn’t mean it is OK for you to eat. The other bars are similar in make up just different packaging.

The “snack” food industry (i.e. all refined flour treats from crackers, pretzels, rice cakes, etc.) has one goal in mind-to make money.

It’s not because they are looking out for your health or because these treats are healthy for you-quite the contrary, in fact. What makes them the most money? Taking cheap materials (refined flour) and glorifying it with marketing and packaging and marking up the price. I love going against the grain and not falling for their shenanigans.

Here’s a funny story, maybe some of you can relate to. My husband’s boss, like so many others, starts a new diet by running out and buying a few bags and flavors of rice cakes as their weight-loss savior.

Wouldn’t you know it, but the whole bag of rice cakes is gone within a couple of days and sometimes in a couple of hours. That’s a total of 600 calories! That’s like eating over 135 grams of carbs and sugar if you have the whole bag of Cinnamon Apple Rice Cakes (of course that’s if you eat them solo!). And this doesn’t include added toppings.

Also, even more importantly and often times overlooked, is that rice cakes compare directly on the Glycemic Index Food Chart to foods like waffles and doughnuts, wafer biscuits, corn chips, etc. They also rank higher than white bread and rolls-ouch!

This means rice cakes are digested and absorbed very quickly into your bloodstream rather than time released energy like whole grains.

Your body then quickly removes the excess toxic sugar from the blood stream, slamming your energy down and making you feel tired. Just amazing isn’t it? I should really tell my husband’s boss about those rice cakes!

4. Meal Replacement Drinks Full of Sugar

I’m going to pick on a couple popular products since they advertise the most to the general public-Slim Fast and Ensure. Let’s start with Slim Fast.

What do the Slim Fast ads say about losing weight? Drink 1 shake for breakfast and 1 for lunch and have a sensible dinner. Most of us have seen these commercials or ads and I automatically want to believe what they say. I have fallen for it before!

I have done some research to find out what’s so amazing about these shakes that’s helping people lose weight! The 6 main ingredients in a slim fast shake are milk, sugar, cocoa (more sugar), canola oil, fructose (more sugar), & hydrogenated soybean oil (trans fats & Genetically Modified).

One can of Slim Fast is 190 calories, 10 grams of protein, and 18 grams of sugar. Would you pay for milk with added sugar and added trans fats?

The sugar is absorbed very quickly into the bloodstream and this is what contributes to accelerated aging, weight gain, cellulite, hypoglycemia and ultimately diabetes. Fructose and especially high fructose corn syrup have been studied and found to be converted into fat more than any other sugar.

Another couple other well known and popular meal replacement drink are Ensure and Boost. These are those drinks your doctor would recommend you drink if you needed more nutrients in your diet.

Comments

161 thoughts on “4 Vegetarian Foods NOT To Eat”

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Call me if you need new nice looking promoware. So what do you think about odwalla bars? I love them and don’t get sugar highs and lows from them so I’m thinking they are good for breakfest on the run. Please tell me that tery are a good choice. They do have a website. Thanks Lynn

This was so informative and I was suprised about the rice cakes and slim fast as that was two of the items I picked up this weekend after registering in a gym..quite an eye opener and good for a begginer like me who is entering the world of the fit.

On an empty stomach, exhale completely and suck your gut in really hard. Hold it in for ten seconds. Repeat nine times. This is an excellent exercise for the muscles that suspend your internal organs, and doing it will shorten them and give you a flatter gut, even when you’re relaxed. In a week you’ll lose a couple of inches off your waist.

When you ‘sucked it in’, your gut should be well back from the front of your ribcage. If it’s not, and maybe even if it is, you may have accumulated a thick deposit of a black, scablike substance in your lower digestive tract. Consuming “toxic” things like coffee, alcohol, meat (according to Arnold Ehret), or cigarette smoke causes your body to secrete protective mucus into the digestive tract, which sticks in the lower tract and slowly dries, changing from white to green and finally to the hard black stuff that continues to poison the bloodstream with a constant seepage of toxins. In some people, the hardened black layer is several inches thick. It’s an ecstatic relief to be rid of it. There are products that claim to remove this, but I recommend scientific fasting, and it may take several ten day fasts spread over years to get it all out. This is dangerous, and can only be safely done after thorough research has been done. I’ve done it many times, starting about twenty years ago, roughly every two years.

I’ve followed this advice since about 1970. So at 59 I can still crank out 130 strict fast pushups before failure, and look better than any of Vince’s student’s after pictures, if they were over forty. Still have a bit of fat on my waist I don’t want, though.

Make your oatmeal with warm, not boiling water, and use the “old fashioned” type. That way you don’t kill the enzymes. I make and eat oatmeal and an omelet in fifteen minutes. Takes practice. Make the omelet while the oatmeal cools, eat the oatmeal while the omelet cooks. Portion control:100 cc’s of oatmeal, 50 cc’s of raisins. One egg, 200 cc’s chopped onion, 200 cc’s grated cheese, after grating (Provolone or lowfat mozzarella have the best fat/protein ratios that I’ve found.), two gutted grape tomatoes. 1 slice Ryvita whole grain rye melba toast w/ sesame seeds eaten with omelet.

I quit bread at when I was 50.

Avoid fluoridated water and toothpaste. You can absorb a huge amount through the lining of your mouth. Be thoroughly hydrated before showering in it, as you can also absorb a lot through your skin. It’s an industrial waste, and came to be used in water because the Nazi’s, and before them, the Russians found that its consumption made prisoners more docile and stupid. As a side benefit to the controllers of everything, it leads to osteoporosis, which weakens your bones, pitting of the teeth, and in some cases, brown spots in your teeth. I wet my toothbrush, dip it in baking soda, squirt on some Dr. Bronner’s vegetable oil based peppermint soap, and brush away. My dentist asked me how I got my teeth so white.

The FDA has thoroughly revealed their lack of concern for public health in their recent ruling that mercury was a safe constituent for tooth fillings. As if all the poison they allow in food, medicine, and vaccines, and their support for Codex Ailmentarius weren’t evidence enough. Google Jane Burgermeister if you still have any inclination to allow yourself to be vaccinated. Word is, they plan to use the Army to forcibly vaccinate us “for our own good”. The vaccines will have ethyl mercury (thimerosol) , and probably squaline (which can cause any of the gamut of autoimmune diseases, like psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, and many others), and in many cases, live avian flu virus(which is 63% fatal). The latter was present in Baxter Pharmaceutical’s April shipment to Europe, and caused a big uproar there. The event was embargoed from the North American mass media, hinting that they have a secret agenda for us with this bogus pandemic.

Im glad u shared this article with us, ive been eating the so called “healthy snacks” rice cakes and cliff bars. I assumed they were healthy because the pacage said so but i guess u cant judge a book by its cover.

Hello, I am glad that i saw ur article with special k’s because i used to consume a lot of the vanilla almond and it is true, i found them to be pretty sweet but because of the convincing AD that goes with these products anyone can be easily fooled. What about pasta and rice seeing that i consume quite a lot of these foods. Mango when in season i kinda over eat and i am getting quite fat around the middle, what can i do

Hey Vince, indeed great stuff posted on the site. However, since there is so much deceiving out there in the food industry, what can we eat after all? Please help. What do you suggest would be a grat, healthy breakfast?

@Jacqueline – I’m not sure what your goals are but I’ll assume it’s to look lean and sexy (which basically means less fat, more muscle) so I’m gonna say you need more protein in your diet, especially in meals 1 and 2. Try this if you like:

If you know about nutrient timing, you’ll also know that consuming simple sugars after a workout is nowhere near as bad and in fact, can be beneficial (to renew glycogen lost during the workout). I doubt the power bar is what did it… then again, you did say ‘power bars’ so i dont know how many you were eating.

Well I am a vegetarian and I do not eat stuff like that.Tell me if the things I eat are bad to digest: 1:In the morning I eat cereal 2:Like three hours later I eat my fruit 3:At lunch I eat my tofo sandwich 4:Go home and eat cereal or fruit 5:Eat chicken-less with vegetables 6:I do not eat after 6:00 pm:D commit back please

@marc daniels – Rice cakes (whether brown or white) are made by cooking rice first and then compressing it into cakes. The cooking and draining of the water leads to loss of all the goodness and all you’re left with is cooked starch which is digested quickly by the body to sugar.

You’ve listed a lot of bad things, but could you give us some alternatives? I like Cliff Bars and being a 23 year old male at 170 lbs, 5’11” I’m not concerned about the sugar content. But I’m wondering what you would recommend instead that doesn’t taste like crap either?

WOW, I eat a cup of Cereal everyday, and I always thought that I was doing the right thing or right choice. Thank you, very good information and I will definitely use your advice. Thanks Vince & Kardena.

Ice cream is at the top of my list of “not to ever eat foods.” Yes, it tastes great, but it is easy to eat more than just a taste. And the ingredients are mostly junk-type food — milk, cream, sugar, chocolate, and ground-up bits and pieces of cookies or candy bars. Ugh!

Great article…. Everyone out there really needs to educate themselves about Partially Hydrogenated Oils. Not only are they killing us but our children as well we as parents need to be more pro active in the foods that we select stop being lazy and start reading the ingredients. Did you know that when you consume Partially Hydrogenated Oils the body cannot generate enough heat to burn it. It takes about 120 degrees fahrenheit to melt PHO so as you can see once it enter the body there’s no way that I know of getting rid of it. Vince do you have any thoughts or suggesting about PHO. Thanks

Great advice Vince !!! But it will be grat too if you do a Article about some kind of healthy breakfast for people that not have enough time in the morning before to go to work , what could be a easy and healthy !!

Hey thanks for that.. I am embarassed to say that i have been eating a good 1/4 of the foods you have mentioned above and after reading that i am dropping all of them out.. Thanks for the advice, every bit helps!

Thanks for sharing the great information. When I first started my training I made the mistake of using protein supplements when in the cutting phase. Vince taught me that this was a mistake and protein supplements should be used when in a bulk phase.

Its interesting how we are mislead by the so called healthy food pruducts it sort of comes back to if its not natural then dont eat it. This seems the only things we can count on things you grow your self real natural products that if you can trust the source. Len Melbourne Australia Ps rolled oats no sugar all natural great breakfast

its very nice to read what you have writen. but what kind of food should we consider while doing our daily shopping. i am 24 years old and 95 kgs by weight i really need to loose my weight can you give me some suggestions? i go to gym daily, what should i work on more which part of my body should i concentrate to burn my fats please help me. thank you

Just wish I knew most of this before I had kids. It’s soooo very difficult to switch them over to healthy foods when all their friends eat crap. Luckily they do not eat drive thru take out junk – you know, the burger and chicken joints.

Look out for the added sugars every where. This article shows how pervasive they are; most of the low fat yogurts have at least 12 grams in those little cups, and, as mentioned, the so called healthy cereals, and dried fruit. Eat healthy, fresh and clean as much as possible, and you can afford the random special occaision cheat meal guilt free.

so refreshing to hear the truth. I have been reading every label now, no matter what the marketing strategy wants you to believe. It’s amazing how duplicitous these companies really are, you’re right, it’s the bottom line that matters most to them, not your health! Thanks for keeping it real.

People u are just killing ur self and start reading labels religiously. Vince u have really helped me just by tweeking things in my diet, ever since i saw the 12 wk diet on ur web it is amazing thank u so much. I have been training since i was 18 i am now 52 i have abs. Thank u the GREAT VINCE DELMONTE. People dont be fooled with the crap u read on food products, the ones listed if continue down this path u will end having a yeast imbalance. Been there down it no thanx. Tank u again Vince. Keep up the great work.

Hi Vince i just read all the comments after reading the article. To be honest people are either naive or lazy, Just read the LABELS. I have been RELIGIOUSLY reading labels for over 5 years. I have to admit over 30 years of training i thought i was doing things right, well they say u cant teach OLD DAWGS new tricks,Ha!! Ha!! Not till i read about the great VINCE DELMONTE. Vince i am in the best shape thanks to u and the 12 week Diet thank u so much.

WOW – I eat loads of rice cakes and houmous in a week. These are the first things I eat when getting in the door of an evening to tide me over until dinner is ready or for just a savory snack if I get peckish as I don’t eat a great deal of sugar expect for fruit. I have organic, no added salt and not the sweet ones – are they really that bad??? What would you suggest instead and I’m wheat and gluten intolerant so limits my choice?

Really eye-opening info. I was aware of the cereal/granola issues, but I had no idea about Ensure, etc. My best friend is a doctor and I’m going to have to ask him if he is aware of what he’s telling people to consume! Doctors are notorious for being generally ill-advised on nutrition information.

I think it is time to heal the gut and help people come to a better and more clear understanding of what is in the foods they eat…. vegetarian or not. For instance it is very important to know that almost all soy, corn and canola is GMO….. and that the body cannot process GMOs and can cause health problems. Wild Super Food is a good addition to any one’s diet. The nutritional profile in Wild Super Food cannot be outdone. And we need to eat less to feel satisfied and have more energy, focus and better health. Our muscles and endocrine system (as well as all the body systems) are well fed and the end result is that we thrive and naturally loose weight and can enhance our muscles with less effort.

Great article – I’m guilty of the occasional granola and occasionally power bars when I’m doing century rides; I’ll have to reevaluate and come up with an alternate for riding. My wife thinks that Slim Fast is the bomb (as I understand it that means good/great), so I will be forwarding her this article also.

On the side of ‘picky picky’ – The title of the article says “4 Vegetarian Foods NOT To Eat On A Weight Loss Diet” but the write up states “Here’s my list of the first 5 vegetarian foods you MUST avoid if you want to lose fat, boost your energy, improve your complexion, and dramatically increase your health.”

Thanks for the tips! What do you guys think about the organic food bars that are 90% raw and made mostly of almonds, dates, sprouts and spirulina? They’re fairly high in calories, but other than that the ingredients look very healthy…

yeah vince great post,very eye opening esp the meal replacement drinks and cereal bars, i agree with some other people who responded it would be nice to see an article giving some healthy alternatives to these products but appreciate everything you’ve done so far atleast someone is telling the truth keep up the good work

Why not just cut the corner and say: “Eat only fresh and unaltered”. Of course there might be few things that might be fairly okay. But if we even look at dried fruits then we can see that they are inflammatory. So if someone is constantly gorging on dried fruit then it might either cause inflammation or help to maintain it. So the basic rule for either vegetarian or meat eaters. “Eat Fresh as much as possible”

Originally Posted By RalphI was caring for my father who had cancer about 5 years ago. Guess what the doctor told me to feed him with, “Ensure”. Since then I’ve learned a lot about the crap these companies put in food. Some of these companies should be held accountable for their actions and be sued for the bad health they cause, just like the smoking industry. Personally now I don’t buy anything unless I know what’s in it. Even bread has some strange ingredients.

Ralph, the nutritional needs of someone with cancer fighting malnourishment and someone trying to lose weight are about as far apart as possible.

Just because drinks like Ensure may be inappropriate for a healthy diet where the person is concerned with staying in shape, for a someone with zero appetite who needs lots of calories in an easily consumable manner they can be life-savers.

What about the Fiber One products. I know these products can have some sugar in them but considering the high amount of fiber, does that help offset the grams of sugar? Personally, I have always had great success eating a lot of fruits and vegetables. So for some that say don’t eat too much fruit, I would have to disagree with you.

How can food production giants keep making food on other peoples misery by not informing exactly whats in these foods and suppilments. If all these so called help outs are just miffs and fly by solutions and there just doing the reverse to what they state they do, is there not something called false informing the consumer? I think a knowledge base for these kind of foods are essential and I am pleased I have the access to this sort of information.

great advice about the clif bars! i have a box of them at home i used on hiking trips and sometimes after i worked out thinking it was full of protien and fiber. sounds like im throwing those out the door. from what i could tell the general concept is dont skip a meal and dnt eat processed or refined foods.

It is easy to be informed now a days and then read labels, but we just don’t do it. So many just follow a commercial slogan and a flashy label as the decision making milestone. Things are not complicated at all, it is just a matter of good simple information and common sense. Would be nice to have articles on good food to have and on how to read labels. Regards to ye all!

I must say good info people are so quick to grab any thing that say’s healty.Just because it say’s it does’ent mean it is. I msut say I stick to whole foods like eggs, meat, vegtables, I am curious about oat bran hot cereal. Is this good in the morning to eat. Also the egg thing. Should I be eating egg whites or whole eggs. I have been doing 5 whites to one yolk with mushrooms and red peppers,onions, garlic and low fat cheese.

Thank you Vincent for the link to this blog. To be honest I’m surprised that these 4 foods are even listed under ‘Vegetarian Foods’ but then again I’m judging this article against the knowledge that I’ve aquired over the years and should give Kardena credit, for providing this information to those who may not be aware, of how easily we are ‘enticed’ and ‘decieved’ by any type of advertising. These are afterall processed foods….brilliant article nevertheless

Wow I am not a health fanatic but the amount of trash I am obviously putting into my body every day is shocking. No wonder I constantly fell tired and exhausted. Thanks for that article. Very eye opening.

I have been losing a stunning amount of fat in the past few weeks, and even though my weight hasn’t shifted much, it’s evident that most of it is muscle. I have given up chips and crisps, and cereal, and my favourite snack is almond. Sometimes I do go for a protein bar, since I get them for free once in a while.

Could you say something about whole wheat products, I don’t eat bread but would love to hear about pasta. It’s such a boom now. Is there much of a difference ?

Good Piece of Information that ! Most ppl think that the foods mentioned above are the best possible foods packed with nutrients, minerals, proteins and vitamins… This should be an eye opener for all of us and we should avoid most processed foods and stick to natural foods…

what meal are you having these rice cakes for – lunch? Dinner? Oh, they’re not a meal, they’re an ‘extra’ – a snack! Get a grip! If you want to lose weight you don’t want to be snacking on this stuff. Try a tomatoe instead!

When I read the title of this article I wondered just which fruit or veg. could possibly be really bad for you! This article is excellent, reinforcing what should be the cardinal rule of eating healthily – “avoid eating anything which has passed through some fat cat’s factory”! Keep up the good work. Regards, Graham.

Yeah that is the paradox of industrialisation where junk food is the order of the day and finding healthy natural food has become a challenge. Mass production of sugar of all kind (from saccharose to alcohool and passing thru chocolate bars and so on…) that is the root cause of many of diseases from diabetes to cardiopathies and going thru ulcers. It looks like we have decided to become ingenious in producing harmful food stuff and then sit down to spend time and money looking for how to solve these issues. Simply I do not see the necessity to produce such huge amounts of sugar. I believe production of sugar should be reduced to even less than 1/10th of the current world production. We train our children to eat candies, and then when they grow up we tell them they should quit eating sugar. It then takes a whole life cycle to quit sugar, in case they succeed. Sorry for this tone but I am really upset.

I eat only whole foods … fruits, raw veggies with my romaine lettuce salad. Also fish and raw eggs. Absolutely no sugar, grains or any junk food. I read labels, because they even put sugar in some canned fish.

I’m glad to see the meal powders (both weight-loss and replacement) were on your list. I’ve been suspicious of both, given their ingredient lists. The shocking thing is that these drinks are recommended by doctors if patients are consuming less food than they should. This is one time when I think green smoothies (a salad in a cup) with NO powder additives would be much more beneficial.

Question: What is the difference between the carbohydrates in vegetables and the carbohydrates in grains? I’ve seen 95% carbs in many vegetables and fruit, yet I believe a balanced carb diet (with a ratio similar to protein 30%, fat 30%, carbs 40%) is reasonable. Is starch a short-chain carb? Weight loss seems to be greater if we consume the vegetable form of carbs and reduce or eliminate some or all grains, particularly gluten-containing grains like wheat.

Gluten has been implicated in the development of diabetes. It’s a significant consideration for those with metabolic syndrome, pre-diabetes, or a family history of these conditions and diabetes II.

Rice Cakes….of all things i was very surprised that these can be soo bad…it just reienforces how much companies stack on the salt, sugar and flavours to make us try their products and think that somehow we are still eating healthy food. Thanks for helping to clear up the misconceptions…i guess we are always going to be better off if we get food in the most purest/ cleanest form and cook it ourselves…at least we have more control about what is in it!

I think you cannot eat too many fruits, either. Bananas, oranges, tropical fruits. These are, for the most part, glorified sugars.. yes I know I’m exaggerating a bit but it is really easy to get too many almost empty calories from them and get your blood sugar levels go too high. Opt for nuts, eggs, beans, etc. that keep your blood level more even and give more satiety. Didn’t the old Romans get fat on fruits..

Refined sugar: it’s a massive problem – the industry love it because of its intense, sweet flavour [Brit – excuse some spellings!], it’s cheap and can be used to cover up a whole multitude of sins – yet to the body it has no value whatsoever. It’s often described as “empty calories”, which is true, but it’s worse than that – it sends your blood sugar racing high, which causes your pancreas to go full throttle to produce insulin to get the sugar levels back down. Then what happens? You crave more sugar! Quite seriously, folks, refined sugar is a *DRUG*! Personally, I – quite serously – think it should be illegal.

Salt: It’s cheap, it’s also used to intensify flavour and/or cover the taste of added chemicals. It causes thirst, this makes you drink more water … and the vast majority of that ends up in the blood. But your arteries and veins are of a set volume, so this causes an increase in pressure. Due to the salt intake, your body doesn’t excrete this water. It’s even worse than that. The sodium contained in the salt affects the sodium/potassium balance of the nerves, which can lead to them not functioning properly – affecting our ablity to sense our surroundings or move at will. This foodstuff is nothing short of poison.

Wheat: have you ever made glue from flour and water? Our bodies are 70+% water, so what’s going to happen when you put in refined flour? That’s rght, you’ll have glue sticking up your insides! Even wholewheat needs to be broken down, so it’s going to end up sticky and other foods are going to stick to it – generally building up like a pearl in an oyster. And yet, it’s in just about everything! Start off by trying to have at least one wheat-free meal a day, then wheat in just one meal a day, then go for a day or two a week wheat-free and generally build up from there. As I said, it’s an ingredient in so many foods, it’s not easy to eliminate.

Dairy: Have you noticed how any animal gives up milk early in its life? Have you noticed how the milk they drink is from their mothers, or at least the same animal? Have you also noticed how sticky butter is? I think I can leave you to draw your own conclusions on this one.

Meat: we generally eat far more meat than we need. Why? Effective advertising. Did you know that 100 kcals of steak contains 5.9g protein? Did you also know that 100 kcal of broccoli contains 20g protein? More and more bodybuilders are going vegetarian – these leafy greens are fat free. Eating them raw (eg juiced or in a smoothie) means you get all the enzymes – which are proteins.

Soya (eg Tofu): one word – processed.

Fruit juice: ever cut into an apple and then not eaten it immediately? It goes brown, right? This is the fruit breaking down and decaying. How many cuts to get it down to apple juice? Then what’s going to happen? Juice your own fruit and vegetables and drink immediately. As mentioned in the article, fruit is full of natural sugar (so not nearly as bad as the refined stuff, but sugar nontheless) so limit your intake. If you’re new to juicing, consider juicing veg (with apple and/or carrot juice to sweeten) and eating most fruit.

There’s some hope. Our bodies are excellent and expelling what we don’t want/need. Yet, a McDonald’s cheeseburger (just to pick an extreme example) takes 3 days for our bodies to eliminate the toxins. Not bad if you don’t take on further toxins in the meantime. Yet, raw fruit/veg takes about 20 minutes to digest. After that time, the body gets on with something else – usually repair (including bulding muscles that have recently been exercised, and great-looking skin). So no need to panic over the *occasional* slip-up, so long as it’s not a (“drug-food”) habit.

One of my friend ost the use of his legs due to an accident and through growing depression his appetite has been curbed. he was told to eat more from his doc and guess what… he was prescribed ensure. from what i read now that was 600 calories of S*#t. dont get me wrong, i used them myself for a while and i did gain the weight i wanted but unforunatly in all the wrong places

Great artcle! Another reason to stay away from soy is that it’s a natural estrogen. Besides having devastating health effects on men, it causes them to grow “man boobs” because it upsets the balance between estrogen and testosterone. There’s an informative article about it in the recent “Men’s Health”.

Since u mention partially hydrogenated oil (trans fat), I guess it will include all type of peanut butter (Goobers etc.), all chocolate spread (Nutella etc.) and all kind of Margarine even when the labels say cholesterol free.

I have a natural breakfast made with a cup of oatmeal containg a few almonds some goji berries linseeds and a few raisins. Its okay but it bores me to death, quite filling though. As a person who tries to eat as healthily as possible I often feel hungry and my energy levels have dropped lateley. I am still carrying too much weight but have lost my passion for the gym. my body is a natural fan of carbs, I no longer eat carbs, havent for a long long time now and i think this is why i never feel satisfied. I can eat fresh fruit and vegetables, salads and protien till the cows cone home, but still i am hungry and fed up. I will say that my skin and hair are in excellent condition, my eyes are clear and sparkling. people often ask me how I look so fresh and healthy all of the time, however all of my hard work seems to be reflected in my look but not my weight. im 48 ive hit menopaouse and im really struggling.

I’m disgusted that these quick foods we eat for convenience are so awful for us. And we are the ones trying to do something about our health! I’d like more info about what various sugars do to our bodies, and would like more foods to avoid listed. And how about replacement healthy foods for these items? Now I need to know what to eat!

Great article! I am so glad that I don’t eat cereal and I never liked Rice cakes to begin with. Also, I am very disappointed at all those “so called” weight loss products like Slim Fast that just get people fooled into thinking that a bad tasting, sugar loaded shake will help them lose weight. My mom got suckered into it a few years ago and I kept on telling her to READ the label!! I think she ended up gaining weight…..

For now, I will stick to my egg whites and strawberries for breakfast!

Thank you for the great info and looking forward to receiving more updates!

Few weeks back i had bought peanut butter. It contained hydrogenated oils. What do you suggest. Should i use it or throw it. In India I couldnt find Natural one. But all peanut butter have hydrogenated oils here. Thanks

I am a firm believer in pastas, only recently did I discover that the whole grain versions were so much better than the store shelf product. I combine the pastas with fresh vegetable sauces ( home made) . Breakfast is the hardest meal to get by, no cereal that I like is good for me so I ‘ve gone to no fat yogurt and fresh berries. I dont have to have a lions share either. A small amount fills me and I dont feel hungry for a few hours…

@Brian – I agree completely! Most of the time, especially in the morning, there just isn’t time for scrambled eggs and oatmeal, etc. If you’re running late, there have to be grab and go options that still provide enough calories to fill you up through lunch. I prefer a whey protein shake and whole grain toast in the morning, when I’m in a hurry.

I’ve been a vegetarian since 1986. None of these are foods I eat, with the exception of a couple boxes of Raisin Bran a year.

This stuff all looks like super-processed “diet” food that happens not to have meat in it, nothing that would sustain you. People who choose vegetarianism because of the impacts that a US-style diet heavy in meat has on the earth and other people generally eat lots of grains and lentils in many forms.

@Rafael T–we eat oatmeal every morning, but not from those little packets. I get quick oats (i.e. finely chopped) and mix cinnamon into it right away. When I get up, I put some into a bowl, drizzle molasses over it, usually add some raisins, and pour boiling water on, enough to cover the oatmeal but not drown it. I let it sit while I wash up, then stir in the milk and it’s ready to eat. My son is 6 and loves it!. It is just as fast as the packets, has more protein because of the molasses, and I know exactly what we’re eating–no additives or anything!

btw, to people who say they want more–follow the links to her website and you can download the full article with all 10 foods. It’s basically more of the same–processed crap is bad for you. Besides soy burgers it never gets beyond snack foods. Seriously, if you’d just read the wrapper you can figure out this kind of stuff easily. I’d love to see a site that went a bit further in nutritional analysis!

It is a great article. You are absolutely right about all these type of food. Indeed, it should not be called a food. The definition of food is “material consisting essentially of protein, carbohydrate, and fat used in the body of an organism to sustain growth, repair, and vital processes and to furnish energy”. None of the food mentioned in this article capable of sustaining growth of healthy tissue, and definitely not capable of repair any damaged tissue. Food also should contain nutritious substances such as minerals, vitamins, and enzymes. Also, the word vegetarian has “veget” in its root. It meant vegetables should be in the main menu for vegetarians. Other types of “bad” food include: everything made from white flour (pasta, spaghetti, pizza, pastries, est.), most of the fruit juices ( not enough juice, but too much corn syrup), some type of yogurt that contain too much sugar, artificial colorings and flavorings. Soy milk, rice milk, almond milk often have added sugar and artificial flavorings, and some trans fats. Lets say most of the packaged food is dead food. Thank you again for the article. It covers the basics for the most of the people.

Thanx for your post , Great article, I just want to know, Are other varieties of Kellogs like simple sugerfree cornflakes & allbran flaks fattening ,I use to take these due to its high Iron content. Please advice

Vince, Thanks for the information, Raisin Brans are one of my favorite cold cereals, along with the mini wheats. I guess the best alternative would be oatmeal. Would the oatmeal packets be just as bad?

Hi this article has been most informative, I work out 6 days a week and do not miss a single work out session yet I see no results on my belly, hips and thighs, I realize now the mistakes I am making in my diet. I am constantly looking out for vegetarian food that can give me maximum protein as I enjoy doing weight training. Look forward to more such articles.

Dear Brother, I hope that your free six pack video lessons would be a great eye opener. I really understand what is avialable in the market these days are just fat adders to our body. In advance, I Thank you for your free video lessons which you will send it to me.

Im having one,sometimes two energy drinks per day!(Red bull*)I dont know but they make me feel better for a period!I want to stop them but i cant!Its like a drug!I drinking this drinks for years now!I want to stopped them but i cant!How but is for my health and for my diet that so hard i tried to arhieved?And how can i stopped my mind thinking that energy drink?

Great Post. It’s amazing what ingredients are in our foods that we “think” are healthy. As a parent and health fanatic it’s difficult to find snacks that are easy and healthy. As the saying goes – if you want something done right, do it yourself (or make it yourself).

I’m achieving great weight loss results by adding chia seeds to my diet. Because they have no taste you can add them to anything but I usually have Bran Buds, Chia, skim milk and a piece of fruit and have energy that lasts for a long time and I don’t get hungry as soon. I like Kashi bars but only have one every few days. Great info.

It is amazing that we have been blind to the junk we have been ingesting into our bodies. I would never have thought that these items were so bad for you! Thank you for your research and revealing this information to me! Crash

All those totally make sense to avoid. I was wondering though are there any store bought granolas that are better, I tend to buy the low sugar ones in the bulk section. Or is it better to make your own so you can control what goes in it?

I believe I detect a theme here: Pre-packaged foods have stuff that might be unhealthy. I’m guessing Kardena’s foods of choice are whole foods. Wouldn’t surprise me, Vince, since you’ve written in favor of them many times yourself.

Let’s talk about people who work out on a regular basis. Night is the longest period that we go without food. Therefore not only they have to make sure they supplied their system with enough nutrients for the most of the night, but when they wake up they need thier bodies fueled as soon as possible again. That’s where, I think, sugars come in handy! It doesn’t have to be 25g, but what’s wrong with 5-10g? Think about amount of time it will take the whole grain cereal to break up and convert into energy. There is a time lag, which gets pertially compensated with sugars. Wht do you think?

P.S. “crowned Ms. America Fitness 2006-2007 a few weeks ago”. How old is this article?

Thanks so much for sharing all this. I have avoided these foods mainly as I did not really understand them – they just seemed so processed. So now I know alot more about them I will be able to share this with my friends. With the cereals, it is such a shame that so many kids now gorw up eating all that sugar for breakfast every day.

Anything with refined sugar – refined sugar is horrible and the average person consumes way too much! Non-low carb protein shakes are not so hot either unless you are trying to bulk – I avoid all this stuff!

good info… I have a lot of salads-a huge bowl,some fresh fruits , some nuts and fresh soup can work wonders on your system. Is it a must to have separate carbs in this case.I am talking abt having this combo for dinner…. Your suggestions are most welcome…..!!!!!

Taking about ‘freshly squeezed’ jiuces… my fellow physician calls them sugar-water. Indeed, presence of pulp and such makes us believe that juices are natural and healthy. I used to think: there can’t be too much juice! In reality, they are packed with sugar and can easily ruin your diet.

Processing – that sums it up for me on what to avoid. Choose the least processed product you can live with. Brown rice over rice cakes, a banana over banana chips, raw almonds over roasted & salted ones. Read somewhere to shop around the edges of the supermarket (where the protein, fruits, veggies daitry case etc) are and aviod the middle asiles – except for items you aren’t going to eat like napkins or soap.

Someone mentioned Ezekiel cereal – I’ll have to look for that – I use their sprouted grain bread and it is amazing – great chewy texture that is delicious lightly toasted, don’t even need any butter or junk to ruin the flavor.

Good article, I read all labels now and I will not eat anything with trans fat or high fructose corn syrup. After telling us what is bad for us in your first couple of articles be sure to write and tell us what we should be eating to achieve our goals.

I was thinking of a slightly different product list, since I was expecting a list of recently banned veggies…, but that’s irrelevant. What do I have to say about it? I do know vegetarians, who chew on cereals when at home watching TV and some of them are crazy about low-calorie rice crackers and yet watching their weight. Obviously, moderation is the key, adn while there’s nothing wrong with a few rice cakes, they can easily be subbed with a salad. I would consider these products treats.

This sounds familiar… I found a good book that talks about this subject in more detail: Death by Supermarket. It all makes me want to grow my own food like people used to do.

There are exceptions though to the list here; I found a few cereals that are natural and have almost no sugar, such as Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted whole grain cereal (less than 1 gram of sugar and no trans fat), etc. You just have to pay attention and watch out for certain ingredients.

I’d submit anything made with unfermented and GMO soy. Isn’t it odd that soy is touted as this “miracle” food, and yet it is the second most densely populated agricultural product in the US with a huge amount of corporate clout and marketing dollars behind it? After I ceased my soy consumption (difficult to do since nearly everything processed contains some form of soy) my body was all the happier and stopped complaining in the rather gastric ways it was telling me soy was not benefitting me.

I always thought rice cakes were good source of protein if you wanted to gain mass I work in a conveinant store and the gym I work out at is 2 blocks down the street I see people coming in after working out who have ran the tread mill for a half an hour trying to lose weight and buying a 64 oz cup of diet coke and then come back later and buy 2-2 litres of diet coke and this is an everyday thing for them I try to tell them to rehydrate with water but I guess they know their body better than me

Great article. We are being deceived. The Big Lie. The Big Con My wife eats healthy like you say but when you go to a health food store and look at the amount of surgar it is enough to make you fall over. Even in rice milk, or other non dairy milk.Lots and lots of surgar. The big manufactures are playing games to deceive the public. Kind of like Diet Soda’s. Enough to kill you slowly. Thanks for the great and eye openning story Don

I was caring for my father who had cancer about 5 years ago. Guess what the doctor told me to feed him with, “Ensure”. Since then I’ve learned a lot about the crap these companies put in food. Some of these companies should be held accountable for their actions and be sued for the bad health they cause, just like the smoking industry. Personally now I don’t buy anything unless I know what’s in it. Even bread has some strange ingredients.